Sausage and Peppers Pasta {Skillet or Sheet Pan}

Why This is the Best Recipe

Pasta is such a family-friendly dinner that I can make at home or even on vacation. I think this is the best sausage and peppers pasta recipe because:

1. Skillet or Sheet Pan: You can brown the sausage and peppers in a stovetop skillet or on a sheetpan in the oven. This makes it very flexible for making dinner in a variety of kitchens.
2. Buttered Noodles: This dinner is always a hit with my kids because it has a simple garlic butter pasta at the base.
3. Easy Variations: Mix and match the flavors of chicken sausages or colors of bell peppers and you've got a whole new dinner.
4. Colorful Veggies: I love to add fresh arugula or baby spinach at the end for extra color and nutrition for my family.

Ingredients

When you're cooking this simple pasta dish in a rental kitchen, you need to have the shortest amount of ingredients possible.

If you're cooking at home, you might want to add just a few more things. I'll make note of which items I usually add when we're at home.

• Pasta: I recommend either penne, farfalle, or rigatoni. A short noodle works the best for this dish.
• Prepared Chicken Sausages: I've tried many different flavors of chicken sausage in this dish, be sure to read my notes below.
• Bell Pepper: You can use any color bell pepper you want. If you want to add lots of veggies, use 2!
• Arugula: You can substitute fresh baby spinach if you prefer.
• Butter
• Olive Oil
• Minced Garlic
• Grated Parmesan (optional)

When I'm at home, I often use one or more of these items as well:

• White Wine (optional)
• Fresh Lemon (optional)
• Crushed Red Pepper Flakes (optional)

Chicken Sausage Flavors to Try

We've tried several different flavors of chicken sausages over the years, these are our favorites:

• tomato and basil
• garlic
• pineapple terriyaki
• pineapple and bacon
• buffalo
• mozarella
• apple

Absolutely any one of those would pair perfectly with the butter and peppers in this dish! You could also try them in my creamy gnocchi with chicken sausages recipe, a similar skillet recipe to this one.

Prep the Sausage and Peppers

When you're trying to make 4 chicken sausages stretch for a full family dinner, I find it helpful to slice them into bite-sized pieces.

They are easier to toss into the pasta dish, they brown beautifully, and it helps make our plates look fuller.

Line the sausages up and use a sharp knife to slice them on the diagonal for larger-looking pieces:

I usually prefer to slice the bell peppers into thin slices, especially when I'm sauteeing them in the skillet.

If you plan to roast the sausage and peppers, you might prefer to cut them into chunks. It will work either way.

Skillet Instructions

If you want to build the pasta dish completely on the stovetop, get the pasta cooking in a pasta pot.

Then in a large skillet, add the olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the chicken sausages and brown them on both sides.

Add the bell peppers and cook until they have just charred on the edges and are starting to soften.

At this point, your skillet may have golden brown bits sticking to the bottom of the pan. If you have it on hand, you could deglaze the skillet with a splash of white wine or chicken stock. This is an optional step.

Add the minced garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.

Nudge the sausage and peppers to the side and add the butter to the skillet. Melt the butter and toss with the sausage and peppers.

Add the cooked pasta to the skillet and toss to coat in the butter. If your skillet isn't large enough, you may want to do this in the pasta pot instead.

Finally, add the fresh arugula to the skillet and stir it in. It will begin to wilt from the heat of the pasta.

Once the arugula has wilted, you're ready to serve the pasta with grated parmesan if you desire.

Sheet Pan Instructions

If you prefer to roast the sausage and peppers in the oven, preheat the oven to 400°F.

Toss the sausage and peppers in olive oil and lay them in a single layer on a large sheet pan.

Roast them for 20 minutes or until the peppers have softened and charred. Be sure to toss them half way through the cooking time.

You can melt the butter in the pasta pot after the pasta has been drained. Add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds or until fragrant.

Then add the pasta, roasted sausage and peppers and toss together. Add the arugula and stir it in and let it wilt for 1 minute.

Variations

Spicy Sausage and Peppers: Use andouille sausage and crushed red pepper flakes.

Garden Veggie Pasta: Add sugar snap peas and/or broccoli to the skillet or sheet pan.

Sausage, Peppers, and Onions: Slice a red onion or Vidalia onion and add it to the recipe at the same time as the bell peppers.

And once you have tried them, you may want to use these delicious chicken sausages to make this easy grilled Polish sausage recipe.

More Easy Pasta Recipes

Once you know how to brown chicken sausages, you can add them to any one of these easy pasta dishes for a little bit of protein to the dinner: